What you need to know
The number of non-hotel lodging choices available to travelers has exploded in the last decade, becoming a categorical juggernaut in the travel industry. Younger, more experience-minded travelers jumped on early, and in fact remain hotel alternatives’ strongest supporters. Now, while hotel alternatives are still attractive to current young travelers and grown-up early adopters, they have to start filling the gaps in satisfaction to prevent their fans from “aging out” of alternatives and into hotels.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:
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Hotel alternative: Paid lodging other than hotels, motels or casino hotels. This Report focuses on the following hotel alternatives:
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Homeshares: Private residences that are rented by the owner in whole or in part to overnight guests.
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Vacation rentals: Similar to homeshares, but generally rented as entire residences (opposed to smaller units) for longer terms.
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Apartment rentals: Residential units within multi-unit buildings that are rented on per-night or per-week basis, as opposed to monthly leases.
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Campgrounds: Outdoor areas that provide spaces for guests to camp in tents or RVs. Also includes areas that provide on-site lodging such as cabins.
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Hostel: A building that accommodates many overnight guests in a setting with more basic amenities than a hotel. For instance, many hostels have dormitory- or barracks-style sleeping areas with minimal privacy, as well as more residential-style common areas.
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Bed and breakfast: Lodging that tends to be small and privately-owned and is typically rented for one- or two-night stays. Differs from a homeshare in that while many are converted residences, they are fully considered to be businesses.
This Report uses “hotel alternative” interchangeably with “alternate accommodations,” “alternative accommodations,” and “alternatives.”
This Report builds on and compliments data and analysis from the Mintel Report Hotels – US, June 2019 and Hotels and Accommodations – US, May 2017. Readers of this report may also be interested in Vacation Planning – US, April 2019 and Holiday Travel – US, May 2019.
